Child Abuse and Neglect

News about Child Abuse and Neglect, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 23, 2015

United Nations deputy high commissioner for human rights Flavia Pansieri resigns for health reasons; Pansieri, most senior UN official informed about alleged sexual abuse of several Central African Republic boys by French peacekeepers, has been blasted for her inaction and mishandling of case. MORE

Jul. 13, 2015

Stanley Fredrique of Elmont, NY, is charged on several counts after attempting to abandon his 3-year-old daughter at a Subway restaurant in Harlem. MORE

Jul. 12, 2015

Op-Ed article by Prof Maxine Eichner examines rise in doctors accusing parents of medical child abuse for seeking unnecessary or excessive medical treatment for their children; notes that accusations have sometimes led child welfare officials to back doctors and threaten parents with loss of custody; calls for end to medical abuse panic. MORE

Jul. 9, 2015

Report by Human Rights Project for Girls, in conjunction with other organizations, finds as many as 80 percent of girls in some states' juvenile justice systems have history of physical or sexual abuse; report recommends that girls who have been sexually trafficked no longer be arrested on prostitution charges. MORE

Jul. 5, 2015

Case of Zachery Anderson, 19-year-old arrested and charged for criminal sexual conduct for having sex with 14-year-old girl, has been held up by some advocates and legal authorities as example of overreach of sex offender registries; girl admitted to lying to Anderson about her age, and because Anderson pleaded guilty, he will be put on sex offender registry for life and be required to be in regular contact with authorities. MORE

Jun. 23, 2015

Former Canadian Justice Marie Deschamps will lead independent panel investigating how United Nations handled inquiry into accusations that French peacekeepers sexually abused children in Central African Republic. MORE

Jun. 20, 2015

Unicef's Nepal representative Tomoo Hozumi releases statement warning of possible spike in trafficking of children in wake of earthquakes in country. MORE

Jun. 18, 2015

New York City schools administrator John DiFiore is arraigned on charges of endangering and sexually touching a 14-year-old boy at his Manhattan home; DiFiore plans to fight charges. MORE

Jun. 16, 2015

Vatican sets date for trial of Jozef Wesolowski, former envoy and archbishop to Dominican Republic, on child sexual abuse and child pornography charges; trial will be first of its kind under new criminal procedure rules enacted by Pope Francis in response to global outcry over handling of sexual abuse cases. MORE

Jun. 16, 2015

Archbishop John C Nienstedt and auxiliary bishop Lee A Piche of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis resign after complaints surface over their handling of sexual abuse claims involving priests. MORE

Jun. 13, 2015

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang orders officials countrywide to prevent events that led to deaths of four children who died in southwest part of country after drinking pesticides; siblings were so-called left-behind children, whose father was migrant laborer away from home for long periods on jobs, and their mother was absent. . MORE

Jun. 11, 2015

Pope Francis has taken unprecedented step of approving establishment of Vatican tribunal to judge bishops who have been accused of covering up cases of sexual abuse of children by priests, or of failing to take action; mechanism for judging bishops was one of main priorities suggested by papal commission on sexual abuse created by Francis. MORE

Jun. 6, 2015

Minnesota prosecutors are charging leaders of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis with failing to act in response to repeated accusations of sexual abuse by former priest Curtis Wehmeyer, who is serving prison sentence for sex crimes and child pornography. MORE

Jun. 6, 2015

Jolene Burdge says her older brother Stephen Reinboldt was sexually abused by former House Speaker J Dennis Hastert when he was teacher and wrestling coach at high school in Yorkville, Ill, from 1966 to 1981; Reinboldt, who died of AIDS in 1995, was wrestling team's equipment manager; Hastert faces charges of lying to FBI and concealing large cash withdrawals to pay off a former student over decades-old sexual misconduct. MORE

Jun. 4, 2015

United Nations announces it will create independent panel to investigate allegations by New York-based advocacy group AIDS-Free World that French peacekeepers sexually abused children in Central African Republic. MORE

Jun. 4, 2015

Bronx prosecutors are asking potential victims to come forward with information about Jonathan Rosenblatt, prominent rabbi of Riverdale Jewish Center who is said to have behaved inappropriately with young boys during long sauna chats in which they were fully naked; statute of limitations may long have past for all but most serious crimes, but district attorney's office still seeks to offer counseling and other services. MORE

Jun. 3, 2015

Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission reports country's former policy of forcibly removing aboriginal children from their families for schooling was 'cultural genocide;' documents widespread physical, cultural and sexual abuse at government-sponsored schools that indigenous children were forced to attend. MORE

Jun. 1, 2015

Charles M Blow Op-Ed column argues that while it is tempting to gloat, and to focus on political hypocrisy when conservatives like Dennis Hastert are accused of child sexual abuse, it is important to remain focused on victims and their needs; examines deep and lasting psychological trauma of childhood sexual abuse, saying it is imperative to understand its dynamics in order to better protect children. MORE

May. 31, 2015

Federal law enforcement agents say millions made by former Republican House Speaker J Dennis Hastert during his later years as a lobbyist allowed him to give $3.5 million to former student in exchange for keeping quiet about sexual abuse. MORE

May. 31, 2015

Yorkville Journal; allegations of child and sexual abuse against J Dennis Hastert have deeply shaken his home city of Yorkville, Ill, which identifies deeply with former House speaker, and have left residents questioning what indictment means for them. MORE

May. 31, 2015

Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt of Modern Orthodox synagogue Riverdale Jewish Center becomes subject of controversy as several men come out with stories about his questionable behavior toward them in their youth; Rosenblatt has not been accused of sexual misconduct and members of congregation who had quietly expressed concern over years believe that he has stopped practice. MORE

May. 30, 2015

FBI investigation into former House Speaker J Dennis Hastert shows he was paying former student hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep quiet about sexual abuse by Hastert; Hastert was a high school teacher and coach in Yorkville, Ill, from 1965 to 1981, though it is not clear when abuse occurred; federal prosecutors indict Hastert for making cash withdrawals totaling $1.7 million to evade detection from banks. MORE

May. 30, 2015

Advocacy group AIDS-Free World publishes leaked United Nations documents that group says point to a wider awareness among senior UN human rights officials that French soldiers sexually abused children in Central African Republic than was previously thought; also accuses officials of a cover up. MORE

May. 30, 2015

Chinese authorities execute former elementary schoolteacher Li Jishun for molesting or raping 26 female students, all under the age of 12 and some as young as 4. MORE

May. 29, 2015

At least 20 companies have withdrawn ads from TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting following report that star Josh Duggar had been investigated for molesting underage girls; companies include Walgreens, General Mills, Pizza Hut and Choice Hotels. MORE

May. 26, 2015

Memo From the United Nations; internal audit by United Nations Office of Internal Oversight sheds light on issue of rape and child sexual abuse allegations against peacekeepers; highlights problems including bureaucracy, UN's lack of authority to prosecute soldiers, and fact that most common punishment for sex offenses is to return soldiers to home countries and bar them from future missions. MORE

May. 22, 2015

British police attribute unprecedented surge in reports of sexual abuse to changing attitudes after revelations that once-beloved TV personality Jimmy Savile victimized dozens of minors for decades prior to his death in 2011. MORE

May. 19, 2015

Two judges in Argentina defend their choice to reduce sentence of child molester Mario Tolosa, arguing that crimes were less severe because victim, 6-year-old boy, had been previously abused and had shown signs of homosexuality and 'transvestite conduct'. MORE

May. 17, 2015

Op-Ed article by author Joe Flood examines struggle of South Dakota's Oglala Lokata tribe with surge in youth suicides; holds what is being held from public awareness is fact that suicides are undeniably linked to multigenerational sexual abuse; cites research showing generations of Native American children were forcibly removed from families and placed in isolated church-run schools that allowed sexual abuse to run rampant. MORE

May. 16, 2015

Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Jeffrey Rueter sentences Arizona mother Shanesha Taylor to 18 years supervised probation for leaving her two young sons alone in hot car for hour while she attended job interview; Taylor garnered sympathy online after her arrest, which led to thousands of dollars in donations, but squandered good will by spending money on nonessential items. MORE

May. 15, 2015

Federal prosecutors charge Nicole Vaisey and boyfriend Stephen Howells with coercing and sexually exploiting two Amish girls and some other children in 2014. MORE

May. 12, 2015

Johnesha Perry of Pennsylvania is charged with homicide after pushing her 1-year-old son Zymeir Perry off bridge into river before jumping in herself. MORE

May. 9, 2015

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein accuses France of delaying investigation of allegations that French soldiers in Central African Republic sexually abused children; uproar over allegations has spurred United States to urge inquiry and has focused attention on UN's process for holding peacekeepers accountable. MORE

May. 8, 2015

French judges announce they will formally investigate allegations of sexual abuse of children by French soldiers tasked to guard M'poko airport during peacekeeping operation in Bangui, Central African Republic; confidential United Nations report asserts that two children witnessed abuse of four others at camp near airport between December 2013 and June 2014. MORE

Apr. 30, 2015

French Defense Ministry says it is investigating claims of child sexual abuse by French soldiers in Central African Republic; acknowledgment comes after inquiry was leaked to newspaper The Guardian. MORE

Apr. 30, 2015

New York City police arrest nurse practitioner Oluyemisi Adebayo and charge her with second degree murder in death of developmentally disabled toddler Naomi Mondesire; Adebayo, who had been hired to provide child care in Rosedale, Queens, is said to have caused Mondesire's death by submerging her in scalding bath water; was apprehended at Kennedy Airport attempting to board plane to Nigeria. MORE

Apr. 21, 2015

Megan Huntsman of Utah is sentenced to life in prison for killing her six of her newborn children and hiding their bodies in her garage for more than a decade. MORE

Apr. 14, 2015

Iranian Pres Hassan Rouhani orders ban on religious travel to holy city of Mecca in response to reports that Saudi airport officials sexually harassed two teenage boys; ban applies to minor, non-obligatory pilgrimages but it is unclear whether it will extend to annual hajj. MORE

Apr. 11, 2015

Federal Judge Kenneth Marra of Florida rules that claims made by unidentified woman against Prince Andrew, Alan M Dershowitz and others, accusing them of sexually abusing her when she was a minor, cannot be included in lawsuit against businessman Jeffrey Epstein that has been filed by two other women. MORE

Apr. 3, 2015

Indonesian court finds two educators at Jakarta Intercultural School guilty of sexually assaulting three Indonesian kindergarten students and sentences them to 10 years in prison. MORE

Mar. 31, 2015

One-year-old boy Gavriel Ortiz-Fisher dies after his mother, Latisha Fisher, locked him and herself in bathroom of Manhattan restaurant; employees were forced to manually unlock door after Fisher refused; police detain Fisher for questioning. MORE

Mar. 27, 2015

David Adams is charged with murder; Brooklyn man is accused of violently shaking his 2-year-old stepdaughter Thaiya Spruill-Smith, leading to her death in November 2014 and battle over her organs. MORE

Mar. 26, 2015

Polish former priest Wojciech Gil is sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually abusing eight children in Poland and the Dominican Republic. MORE

Mar. 21, 2015

Polish priest Rev Wojciech Gil offers to serve seven-year jail sentence for crimes including moslestation of young boys in Poland and Dominican Republic; under Polish law a defendant can offer to serve prison time for some crimes without admitting to guilt. MORE

Mar. 21, 2015

Police find bodies of five babies in house in southern France after man discovers one in cooler bag and calls police. MORE

Mar. 5, 2015

Editorial welcomes emerging consensus among lawmakers on new initiatives to confront domestic sex-trafficking in the United States; examines bills that would establish 'safe harbor' laws, provide new pool of financing for restitution, victim services and law enforcement, and begin prosecuting those who buy juvenile sex. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Report finds that British television host Jimmy Savile had freewheeling access in hospital where he sexually abused more than 60 patients over two decades. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Christen Dale is charged with manslaughter in beating death of her 3-year-old nephew Ethan Ali in Brooklyn. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

Three-year-old boy Ethan Ali is found dead in his family's apartment in Brownsville, Brooklyn; no adults have yet been charged in death. MORE

July 19, 2015, Sunday

Prosecutors in Colorado have dropped child sexual assault charges against the estranged brother of a former N.A.A.C.P. chapter president who came under criticism for falsely identifying herself as a black woman.